Ad Infinitum
by Quezacolt
Summary: A single moment can last forever. JohnElizabeth


AD INFINITUM

Summary: A single moment can last forever. (JohnElizabeth)

A/N: Slight Spoilers for the Siege Part Three, The Storm and Eye. The song is by Jem, '24'.

_Been given 24 hours  
To tie up loose ends  
To make amends  
His eyes said it all  
I started to fall  
And the silence deafened  
Head spinning round  
No time to sit down  
Just wanted to  
Run and run and run  
Be careful they say  
Don't wish life away,  
Now I've one day_

The corridors were oddly quiet in Atlantis. The atmosphere felt so thick, it could be sliced with a knife. The people, usually bustling around with a smile and laughter etched on their faces, we're slow, sluggish and pale. The horrible truth had sunk in after hours of denial and now, quiet realization had hit nearly everyone with shocking force.

The Wraith we're coming.

With no ZPM and no options, everyone had only a little time before Atlantis was under siege. For John Sheppard, it was less.

_And I can't believe  
How I've been wasting my time_

He looked into her eyes, giving her a determined stare, but at the same time trying to show her everyone one of his feelings for her through his eyes. Her green-brown eyes widened in shock and horror, realizing on her part that he was saying goodbye. She knew at that moment two things. One was that she could never say goodbye to him, it would kill her slowly if he died, and Two, they had now choice. All Elizabeth Weir wanted to do at the very moment was run, and perhaps crawl into her bed and cry, but instead, she gritted her teeth, took in a deep breath and some perspective, before she looked up at him, drinking in his every detail.

_In 24 hours they'll be  
Laying flowers  
On my life, it's over tonight  
I'm not messing no I  
Need your blessing  
And your promise to live free  
Please do it for me_

At her decision, he nodded, staring at her with his barriers down and emotions easy to see, before he ran, leaving her watching after him, her eyes full of tears she would never shed.

She watched him, a green blip on their radar screens, moving faster and faster toward the Wraith Armada. Rodney glared at her, not so subtlety hating her decision to let John Sheppard fly a suicide mission.

Several times her finger toyed with her radio, there were so many things she had wanted to say, but still she resisted. She had to be strong.

_Is there a heaven a hell  
And will I come back  
Who can tell  
Now I can see  
What matters to me  
It's as clear as crystal  
The places I've been  
The people I've seen  
Plans that I made  
Start to fade  
The sun's setting gold  
Thought I would grow old,  
It wasn't to be_

John stared through the window at the city below him, not really seeing the city at all. Her eyes had been so shocked, so terrified, they tore right through his heart. Breathing heavily and with the feeling he had left something important behind, he raised his hand to his radio, thinking of all the things he wanted to say before it was too late. Mouth open, words on the tip of his tongue, he listened to the static for several long seconds before he dared try to speak.

"I'm approaching the ship, Sheppard out."

_And I can't believe  
How I've been wasting my time _

In 18 hours they'll be  
Laying flowers  
On my life, it's over tonight  
I'm not messing no I  
Need your blessing  
And your promise to live free  
Please do it for me

Elizabeth had never revealed it, but she had always felt something for her cocky Major. Tense situations he always diffused with humor and although many considered him insubordinate, Elizabeth had always seen him as sweet and loyal. She was one of the only ones who knew how much potential he had, and how smart he actually was, running accidentally into complicated formula's she didn't even understand, that he had devised whilst looking for his palm pilot and his not-so-finished mission report. She had confronted him about it, and although he shrugged off nearly every theory she threw at him for pretending to act less-intelligent then he actually was (which she knew were right), Rodney had appeared several hours later with the news that these formula's had appeared on his desk during lunch, and wondered who had wrote them. Totally un-amused at Rodney suspecting Zelenka ("I always knew he was trying to show me up, that one."), Elizabeth still kept John's secret, but at that moment decided to try her best at unraveling the mystery that was John Sheppard.

But now it was too late.

_In 13 hours they'll be  
Laying flowers  
On my life, it's over tonight  
I'm not messing no I  
Need your blessing  
And your promise to live free  
Please do it for me_

The Puddle Jumper was approaching the Hive Ship with gaining speed, and after many internal battles, John still hadn't gathered the courage to tall Elizabeth how he felt about her before it was too late. Frustrated, he pulled out his earpiece and was about to crush it in blinded frustration, before he sighed with grim resolve and placed it back in his ear, all the while remembering.

_I'm not alone, I sense it, I sense it  
All that I said, I meant it, I meant it _

And I can't believe  
How much I've wasted my time

.:FLASHBACK:.

John sighed, looking out over the ocean, standing alone on his and Elizabeth's favorite balcony. He almost lost her today. The Genaii had Atlantis under their control for a few hours, and in having, did the one thing no-one should ever really do. They pissed John Sheppard off. But now, he had retaken when belonged to them, but at the same time come to a disturbing realization. He was in love. Completely infatuated with his boss. He had almost lost Elizabeth Weir, hell, he thought he had and it sent him over the knife's edge. It had almost killed him. He had murdered nearly every single on of the Genaii all in the hop it would give him the smallest tinge of closure.

The door opened behind him, but he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. She had come to check on him. She didn't say anything, she simply stood next to him, her arm around wrapped around his elbow, as they stared out at the sea together. She looked up at him and for a second, he remembered her face when she was being dragged away by Kolya. It was terrified and it had scared him.

"You did the right thing." Was all she said, resting her head on his shoulder. John glanced at her, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"I know."

.: END FLASHBACK:.

_In just 8 hours they'll be  
Laying flowers  
On my life, it's over tonight  
I'm not messing no I  
Need your blessing  
And your promise to live free  
Please do it for me_

With a grimace, John felt the ship slow a little, reacting to his torn feelings, but still he plodded on, until his radio crackled to life, and the next thing he could remember, he was being engulfed in Elizabeth's arms.

"I'm home." He said quietly, looking into her tear filled eyes. She smiled, laying her palm on his chin and cupping his cheek.

"Yes, you are." He smiled at her remark, and at the look in her now unguarded eyes.

It was love.

_In just 1 hour they'll be  
Laying flowers  
On my life, it's over tonight  
I'm not messing no I  
Need your blessing  
And your promise to live free  
Please do it for me_


End file.
